The Greatest Debate

Earlier in this post season, the "Great Debate" was Kobe vs. LeBron, who was the greater player? Vitamin Water and Nike both ran the debate into the ground through facebook polls, ESPN specials, and those great puppets (I'm man enough to say I found them comical). This match up is very difficult to judge because James and Bryant are two completely different players in both style, physical stature, and most importantly position. Comparing LeBron and Kobe is similar to comparing Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, both players have different strengths, different styles, and different roles on their respective teams. With that said, I am revisiting a question that arose during last years NBA Finals, is Kobe better than Jordan?
Despite the fact that Jordan and Bryant played the same position and are similar in body build (same height, basically the same weight) three things make the Jordan-Bryant debate hard to judge, 1) Bryant has modeled himself after Jordan, 2) Kobe came into the NBA at 17, while Jordan was 21 during his rookie season. This makes the age comparison (what Kobe does at 30 compared to what Jordan did at 30) useless. 3) The two played in different eras, against different defenders, and under different rules.
Nevertheless, the Bryant-Jordan debate is one that definitely worth having. The past two seasons Bryant has led the Lakers to the NBA Finals, however neither of these teams compare to any of Jordan's Finals teams. Kobe does not have anyone nearly as good as Scottie Pippen as a sidekick, Ron Harper is better than Derek Fisher at the point, and Luc Longley and Dennis Rodman (in the later championship runs) are better than the Bynum-Gasol tandem Kobe has. Also, Toni Kukoc off the bench is better than Lamar Odom. If this Bulls team was in the Finals, there would be no question to who would guard Howard in the post because Rodman would get the better of Howard on the defensive end. Furthermore, Pippen would easily shut down Turkoglu or Rashard Lewis and these Bulls would easily handle the Magic. This is not the case for the Lakers; Rashard Lewis is a huge match up problem for Los Angeles because of Odom's inconsistency. Derek Fisher's inability to hit outside shots allows for the Magic to double Kobe using Rafer Alston; Jordan had Steve Kerr to kick the ball to in case of a double a team.
When comparing Jordan's and Bryant's individual abilities, Kobe is easily the better jump shooter. He has more range on his shot and has the ability to hit shots with one or two hands in his face (not that Jordan couldn't, but Jordan struggled with his jump shot until the latter part of his career and even then he still was not the jump shooter Bryant is). On the other hand, Jordan was better at driving to the basket than Kobe and never had an issue getting to the foul line, something Kobe had trouble with during last year's NBA Finals. Defensively the two are about even, Jordan was a better shot blocker, but one could say Kobe is a bit more discipline, not gambling for steals as often and forcing the Lakers into a scramble style of defense. Most importantly, Jordan had Scottie Pippen who is one of the greatest defenders of all time. This allowed for Pippen to take the opposing team's best player while Jordan was able to use all of his energy on offense. Kobe is the lone stopper on the Lakers and takes the other team's best player every night.
One thing that is an undeniable difference between Jordan and Bryant is that Jordan has had a greater impact on the game from a fan's standpoint. My interest in basketball is rooted in his career, every night I would dress up as Jordan and pretend to be number 23 for the Bulls. My five year old little brother even knows who Michael Jordan is, despite the fact that he was born in 2003, three years after Jordan's THIRD retirement. Bryant's rape case has hurt the impact he could make, for three years he could barely get any endorsements and by demanding a trade two years ago, he only made himself seem like more of a villian in the public's eye. However, Kobe has greatly influenced the game's younger players, most notably LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, both of which have attributed their newfound desire to defend to Bryant. This addition to LeBron's game has catapulted James into the greatest in today's game debate as well as possibly the greatest ever by the end of his career. Even with these influences Kobe has had, Jordan's are much greater. Case and point, I bet you find yourself singing "If I could be like Mike" at least once a month, or maybe it's just me.